Baking for a Cause

Real change is affected by people willing to put their passion into action. One of those people is Jane Hursh, founder of Jane’s Short & Sweet Bakery, whose profits go directly to organizations dedicated to helping young ladies find hope and independence from a life of physical and spiritual imprisonment.

Hursh founded her business three years ago, pursuing her passion for baking, but from the beginning she was aware that this was no ordinary business venture. “It started as a hobby and people started ordering and it just grew,” Hursh said. “We never had the intention of keeping the money, so we wanted to investigate where does the community need that, where can we get the most bang, to make the most improvement.”

Around this time, through research the Hurshes learned about the problem of human trafficking and its ties to Central Florida and decided to dedicate the profits from the bakery to ending it. The anti-trafficking organizations Jane’s Short & Sweet have committed to helping include the Florida Coalition to End Human Trafficking, Born 2 Fly International, Bridging Freedom, and the 306 Foundation, headed by Jane’s husband, John Hursh. The work of the 306 Foundation is to aid women and children escaping sex trafficking and to work to prevent such tragedies by strengthening access to healthcare and education for those most vulnerable.

Looking to the future, Hursh is currently working out a partnership with a church that could provide her with a commercial kitchen where she could continue baking and classroom space where groups of women could learn new skills while healing past hurts. “By intertwining baking skills with life skills, we hope to give them tools to increase their chances of success,” Hursh said.

In the literal sense, each cookie sold is one step closer to helping someone leave a life of pain and abuse behind.